THE NATIONAL HONORS AND ITS MANY CONTROVERSIES. SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 BY ENIOLA AKINKUOTU Leave a Comment In this piece, ENIOLA AKINKUOTU X-rays the debates on the criteria for giving out national honours When in 2004, literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe, rejected an offer of a national honour by the Federal Government during the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, his unusual action spurred a debate in the political sphere. Four years later, human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), blatantly rejected the award of the Order of the Federal Republic in protest of the many years of misrule since Nigeria’s independence. According to him, “it is difficult to accept that President Umar Yar’Adua’s government has honour to dispense honour.” As if the Federal Government had not learnt its lesson, in 2011, Achebe was offered the Commander of the Federal Republic award, by President Goodluck Jonathan but he rejected it again, stating that his reason for rejecting it the first time (political misrule) had not been addressed. Although both Achebe and Fawehinmi are of blessed memory, their actions are still remembered anytime the national honour event is set to hold. The Nigerian National Honours are a set of orders and decorations conferred upon Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. They were instituted by the National Honours Act No. 5 of 1964, during the Nigerian First Republic, to honour Nigerians who have rendered service to the benefit of the nation. The awards in order of importance are: Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (reserved exclusively for the President), Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) and Member of the Order of the Niger (MON). This year, President Jonathan has approved the award of national honours to 305 Nigerians and friends of Nigeria. Surprisingly, one of those to be awarded is the Head Presidential Steward, Mr Isaac Onuh, who will be awarded the MON. Several controversies, however, surround the manner with which the award is given as well as the criteria with which recipients are picked. For instance, history shows that it is the tradition for all service chiefs to be given awards. This implies that the heads of military, police and para-military agencies are given awards regardless of their performance. Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, is of the opinion that this promotes mediocrity in the country. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria says this is antithetical to the very purpose of the award since it is meant to be given solely to those who have contributed to national and global development. He said, “How do we inspire hard work when all our newspapers are taken over by self-serving advertisements of congratulations to public officers and some private officers simply because they have been appointed to an office? Do we forget that they have not even done the work that we appoint them for? “So what is the congratulations in the appointment? And the concept of serving public officers being given national honours simply offends me because what do you then give to that person when he has finished and he has done well? You know more examples about those instances that have undermined our culture of hard work. “And if we go back to our easy example of football, you know they don’t give the award of MVP (Most Valuable Player) to you during the game. Have you ever seen a case where FIFA says stop the game at half time and let us give the MVP to a player?” Similarly, the Head of Political Science Department at the University of Lagos, Prof Solomon Akinboye, believes that people with pending allegations should not be eligible to receive awards. He said the manner with which recipients were picked should be more transparent. He said, “I think that criteria (giving all service chiefs awards) is faulty in the sense that for you to confer national awards on people, there must be a selection board and that board must vigorously look into the Curriculum Vitae of all the people with a view to understanding their level of contribution to national developments. “There should be a procedure and it must start with asking for the CV of those people, regardless of who you are. After that, the board will draw up a criteria. If the person has had some allegations before, that board should be able to establish the veracity of that allegation with a view to knowing if he or she deserves that award. The recipient must be a person of integrity and probity and should not be given an award because he or she is close to the President or because he is a major figure of a political party.” Apart from the issue of compulsorily giving awards to certain office holders, the award has been criticised for not making a provision for those who have died in active service. For instance many Nigerians have been clamouring for a national award to be posthumously conferred on Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, the Physician and Endocrinologist at First Consultant Hospital in Lagos who sacrificed her life to curb the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease by restraining Mr. Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who was the index case of EVD. Responding, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said, “By the laws establishing national honours, it cannot be given posthumously. At the appropriate time, Dr Adadevoh will receive a befitting honour. There is no need to break the law when we can still achieve the same result without violation of our own law”. The presidency’s reason for not giving Adadevoh a national honour implies that the thousands of security agents who have sacrificed their lives in the fight against insurgency will have no chance of being honoured or remembered. Prof. Alaba Ogunsanwo, Nigeria’s former ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, believes the excuse given by the presidency is not appropriate. He told our correspondent during a telephone interview that the presidency should have made a special provision for Adadevoh. He said, “I saw the list but completely lost interest when I discovered that Adadevoh’s name was missing. I felt the President should have even added her name by himself. She has done something new and I don’t think anybody will complain if her name is added to the list. “However, I don’t even see the national honours as important because the manner people are put on the list is too political.” Prof Akinboye, on his own part, says the constitution should immediately be amended to make room for people like Adadevoh and others who lost their lives doing great things for the country. “Those who have contributed immensely to national development should be honoured after they are dead. If the Act fails to incorporate that aspect, it should be amended,” he said. There is also the debate on who should be given which honour. For example, the usual practice is for the GCFR to be conferred on the President while the GCON is also customarily bestowed on the Vice President, Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Nigerian Senate during their first year in office. The CFR is usually bestowed on service chiefs while governors, ministers and Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria receive the CON award. Mr. Akintola Osuntokun, who was former President Obasanjo’s Political Adviser, however, feels these awards should be given in order of political importance. Osuntokun told our correspondent that on the political scale, a minister and a governor are higher than service chiefs and should therefore not be given higher honours. The former presidential adviser said that was the usual practice in other countries but Nigeria’s own was different because of the many years of military rule. He said, “Politically, a Minister of Defence and Minister of State for Defence are higher than service chiefs but you see them receiving higher honours. They are usually given CFR while ministers and governors receive CON. That should not be. “It is probably because of the many years of military rule but these things can be corrected.” On the debate on Adadevoh, Osuntokun says she deserves an award but it is not compulsory that she is given this year. “She did a great thing and she will be forever immortal. The law can be amended before next year, her award can wait,” he said. Surprisingly, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, who also rejected his national honour nomination in 2011, had sponsored a Bill in 2009 to amend the Act but it generated a lot of controversy in the House and when it was eventually passed by the House, there was insufficient time for it to pass through the Senate before the end of the 6th Assembly As more Nigerians are inducted into the hall of fame today, it remains unclear if this time next year, those who have lost their lives in service to humanity will be able to shine among them.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 08:37:02 +0000
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